The Lillian Evans and Marauders Story
by Amaterasu Kinesi
Summary: Dear Mss Evans, You Have Been Accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.. James Potter and Sirius Black, nice to meet you. What's your name? It seemes like she doesn't want to tell us, Jamesie. Don't call me that,Sir. Troll.. C Profile.CH5UP
1. The Freakish Little Redhead

_**Disclaimer:**_

_For all intents and purposes;_

_No copyright infringement intended._

_The __Harry Potter__ books (1-7) and all characters involved within this story are the property of J. K. Rowling._

However, the plot is entirely my own.

**_-This applies to the rest of the story._**

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**You Have Been Accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

_(The Lillian Evans and Marauders Story)_

**Chapter 1**

**_ The Freakish Little Redhead_**

Across the dirty river that wound between overgrown, rubbish-strewn banks that lead from Spinner's End and its many rows and rows of dilapidated brick houses that stood out like a sore thumb in the distance, everything was strangely calm in those pristine houses that usually buzzed with coming and going traffic. No one seemed to be outside enjoying the beautiful day, even though it was the start of summer and the sun was at its highest point in the cloudless blue sky. Given to the suffocating warmth of the day, it was only natural that no one seemed to think twice about going outside and tempting to attract sunburn. Not even the children, which had been so eager to play and take advantage of their two months summer vacation prior to leaving school, thought it wise.

A little way down, within one of those many pristine houses a redheaded, eleven–year–old girl –by the name of Lillian Evans– could be found with her fair skin flushed from the heat and fanning herself as she lazily sat by a windowsill, willing a non–existent breeze to mercifully blow her way. Her hopes were in vain, as she soon realized. The breeze would not blow, just as it had not blown the previous day or the day before that.

The little girl sighed wearily, gazing down at her lap and seeing the book that lay there open and now forgotten and on the verge of sliding off, Lily realized that she had stopped reading the book altogether in the dizziness of the heat that had put her into a snoozing trance. With another sigh, this one rather resigned, Lily picked up the book before it could fall from her lap and shifted on her perch, shutting it close with a forceful, muted _thud _that managed to pick up a small breeze, finally. However, before her skin could register the hopeful breeze, it was gone the next instant.

The redheaded girl scowled and swept away the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand gingerly. It was the beginning of the second week of July and Lily had been sitting by this windowsill more times than she was willing to admit as if waiting for something to happen. In fact, Lily had been expecting and counting on something extraordinary to happen ever since she turned eleven. Nearly six months ago now she'd been waiting and sitting by this same windowsill with a clear view of both ends of the street, and nothing had changed.

_Still, _the little redheaded girl remained waiting for that _something _to finally happen (she simply refused to give up now). _Something magical… _Lily had her whole summer ahead of her to enjoy, but she also had some major summer reading to do before school started up again in September and her hopes were running low…

Lily loved reading, but the books she had been assigned to read over the summer break just seemed so _dull_! And apparently, her older sister was now too '_mature'_ to play with her little sister. Now all her older sister seemed to enjoy was talking about fashion, her cool friends, and the freaks that went to their school, which she seemed to detest to no end.

Petunia was twelve years old and Lily's older sister by a year. However, this was not the reason why the older girl considered herself as more 'mature' than her younger sibling nor why she didn't want to be near Lily. No, it had everything to do with the fact that Petunia considered Lily, her own little sister, to be one of those so-called _freaks _she detested, it was for this reason.

Lily and Petunia, though sisters, were very different from one another, after all. Where Lily excelled, Petunia had to thrive in the shadows of her younger sister, who was as extraordinary and remarkable as her dark red hair and not at all ordinary. Lily was outgoing and beautiful, whereas Petunia was bony, mousey haired, and horse-faced and at best ordinary. Something that Petunia had always been painfully aware of. Because, in Petunia's opinion, there was something _wrong _with her little sister…

Strange events that lead to funny happenings always succeeded the little redheaded girl wherever she was present. Or basically, when Lily was really, _really_ upset, or in some kind of danger, or even terribly afraid things around her tended to go out of sorts. Inexplicably, when Lily was upset… _something_ unexplainable would suddenly happen and it was all a phenomenon that the younger girl of the two sisters, though she tried, never could explain or seem to control.

Lily had once tried to explain as much to Petunia but the older girl would hear none of it, having been on the receiving end of such _unnaturalness_, as she'd called it, one too many times. But then… there were those _other _occasions… when Lily would simply do the impossible. Like landing too lightly on her feet after jumping a little too high and staying up, almost soaring, for longer than it should have been possible…

There was that other time when Lily had been just six years old and had somehow broken every crystal wear in their mother's kitchen, all because Petunia, who had been seven at the time, had tripped her and then made a nasty comment at Lily's expense. One moment, Lily's entire frame had been vibrating with rage, seeing red, and the next, she had been very confused… Petunia screamed… Parents moved purposefully into action… Lily's mum removed her from the dining room as she cried to try and calm her, while her dad tended to Petunia… The result: Petunia ended up having many small, scattered wounds and lacerations across her arms, legs, and face from the many shards of Formica that had, apparently, dived at her. It still bothered the little girl to think of that memory, enough to make her eyes prickle with tears.

After that incident, Petunia started calling Lily a _freak _and would grab on to the smallest sign of something inexplicable happening to go and tell their parents about it_. _Of course, her parents tried talking to her and asking her to try and tone it down while she was out in the open because not everyone would understand. But Lily never understood what there was to understand about what she could just _do _as easily as breathing.

However, try as she might, that had not been the only thing that had happened. Still, it had been the only thing that had happen in a long while, at least while Petunia had been round her little sister to witness it. That is, the redhead recalled, until the summer of last year: The little redhead and Petunia had come to agree to an unspoken, peaceful truce, which lead to the two playing outside…

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_Summer of 1970_

After exhausting every other option the nearby playground had to offer, the two sisters, without knowing that they were being watched, took to the swings and began swinging backward and forward trying to get higher and higher and surpass the other. The younger of the two girls kept swinging higher and higher than her older sister…

"Lily, don't do it!" the older of the two sisters shrieked, seeing the intent of her younger sister a moment too late when–

Lily had let go of the swing at the very height of its arc and flown into the air, quite literally _flown_, launched herself skyward with a great shout of laughter, and instead of crumbling on the playground asphalt, she soared like a trapeze artist through the air, staying up far too long, landing far too lightly.

"Mummy told you not to!" Petunia reminded Lily accusingly, wishing she could do it too.

Petunia stopped her swing by dragging the heels of her sandals on the ground, making a crunching, grinding sound, then leapt up, hands on her hips to continue her rant. When her mummy and daddy weren't around, Petunia's job was to watch and protect Lily because she was the oldest. Even when Lily made it difficult by doing things like this…

"Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!"

"But I'm fine," said Lily, still giggling. "Tuney, look at this. Watch what I can do."  
Petunia glanced around apprehensively. The playground was deserted apart from themselves and, though the girls did not know it, a small, stringy, sallow boy of about the same age as Lily with mismatched clothes that fit him poorly and greasy, overlong black hair hidden behind a clump of bushes, greedily watching the redhead. Lily had picked up a fallen flower from a nearby bush by the time Petunia had returned her gaze to her little sister. Petunia advanced, evidently torn between curiosity and disapproval. Lily waited until Petunia was near enough to have a clear view, then held out her palm. The flower sat there, opening and closing its petals, like some bizarre, many–lipped oyster.

"Stop it!" shrieked Petunia with alarm and disgust.

"It's not hurting you," said Lily, almost defensively, but she closed her hand on the blossom and threw it back to the ground.

"It's not right," said Petunia, but her eyes had followed the flower's flight to the ground and lingered upon it. "How do you do it?" she added, and there was definite longing in her voice that her redheaded sister failed to note given the sting of her previous words.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" interjected a new voice as the boy who had been hiding and observing the two sisters, unable to contain himself any longer, jumped out from behind the bushes. Petunia shrieked and ran backward toward the swings, but Lily, though clearly startled by this strange boy's sudden appearance, remained where she was. As Lily took in the skinny boy's overall look, the boy seemed to regret his appearance. A dull flush of color mounted the sallow cheeks as he looked at Lily.

"What's obvious?" asked Lily, sparing the strange boy's feelings.

The pallid boy had an air of nervous excitement. With a glance at the distant Petunia, now hovering beside the swings, he lowered his voice and said the last thing Lily expected him to say, he said, "I know what you are."

"What do you mean?"

"You're … you're a _witch_," whispered the boy.

Initially, the younger girl had felt insulted, and therefore, _looked_ affronted.

"_That's _not a very nice thing to say to somebody!"

Lily turned, nose in the air, and marched off toward her sister. She couldn't believe that strange boy! How could he, without knowing her, insult her in such a way! But there was something too excited and admiring in the boy's eyes that made Lily think that he had not meant it as an insult... Not to mention that he wasn't laughing at her and actually, he had looked too serious. Still, the sting of his words had clouded her judgment enough not to notice the strange boy's… _complement_.

"No!" said the boy. Lily turned and stared at the boy again, taking in what he was wearing: too short jeans, a shabby, overlarge coat that was probably his father's, an odd smocklike shirt. For a fleeting moment, Lily wondered why he did not take off the ridiculously overlarge coat, but gave up as she noticed his expression instead. He was highly colored now and was flapping after Lily and Petunia, looking ludicrously like a bat, Lily could not help but assimilate.

Petunia and Lily considered the boy as he flapped over to them, for the first time in a while united in disapproval, both holding on to one of the swing poles as though it was the safe place in tag.

"You _are_," the boy insisted to Lily. "You are a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that," he hastily assured Lily as her eyes narrowed. "My mum's one, and I'm a wizard."

"Wizard!" Petunia shrieked, laughing, her courage returned now that she had recovered from the shock of his unexpected appearance. "_I _know who _you _are. You're that Snape boy! They live down Spinner's End by the river," she told Lily, and it was evident from her tone that she considered the address a poor recommendation. "Why have you been spying on us?" Petunia demanded of Snape haughtily.

"Haven't been spying," said Snape, hot and uncomfortable and dirty–haired in the bright sunlight. "Wouldn't spy on _you_, anyway," he added spitefully, "_you're _a Muggle."

Though Petunia evidently did not understand the word, she could hardly mistake the tone. After all, she took that same tone far too often to not know when she was hearing it being directed at her.

"Lily, come on, we are leaving!" Petunia said shrilly. Lily obeyed her sister at once, glaring at Snape as she left.

That first encounter with Snape did not end up being the last Lily saw of the strange boy, Severus she learned his name was later on that summer. Lily had stolen a few days to play on her own while Petunia went to tea parties with her friends and during one of those boring days Snape had revealed himself to her once again.

Though a little wary of him at first, Lily decided to listen to the boy without Petunia around to scoff and humiliate the boy. And she was glad she had as soon as he started opening her eyes to the possibilities of a whole new world she could join because she was magical… she was a _witch_. Once she turned eleven she could go away from home to a school full of other kids just like her and Severus, Witches and Wizards, and learn how to control what she could do and do so much more… if Snape was to be believed.

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_Two months later…_

Lily and Severus Snape sat talking and facing each other, cross–legged on the ground in a basin of cool green shade made from the shadows cast by the trees. Hidden in a small thicket of trees, Lily could just see the sunlit river glittering through their trunks in the distance as they sat. This time around, Snape looked less peculiar in the half light; he had removed his coat now.

"…and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside of school, you get letters."

Severus had been telling Lily all sorts of fascinating tales about what he called the _Wizarding World_, and she was almost too afraid to hope that it was true. If she _was _what Severus said she was then… But then, not all of it was fascinating, some of it was frightening! Still, an entire world, hidden from view and operating in secret under everyone's nose…Lily almost didn't _dare _hope to become part of it…

"But I _have _done magic outside of school!" Lily argued, feeling slightly apprehensive. Could that, maybe, exclude her from being part of this new world Severus kept telling her about? She hoped not, it sounded too extraordinary for her to go back to pretending it didn't exist when she now _knew _about it.

"We're all right. We haven't got wands yet. They let you off when you're a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven," he nodded importantly, "and they start training you, then you've got to go careful."

The two fell silent for a little. Seeing a fallen twig, Lily picked it up and twirled it in the air as she imagined sparks trailing from it. Dropping the twig, Lily leaned in toward the boy, and said, "It _is _real, isn't it? It's not a joke? Petunia says you are lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It _is _real, isn't it?"

Lily needed the confirmation because she couldn't imagine Hogwarts not being real now that she was imagine it. It would be such a fatal blow if it wasn't and she just had to hope that putting her faith in Severus wasn't wrong of her, no matter what Petunia said.

"It's real for us," said Severus. "Not for her. But we'll get the letter, you and me."

"Really?" whispered Lily. She could barely wait to be eleven!

"Definitely," said Severus, and even with his poorly cut hair and his odd clothes, he struck an oddly impressive figure sprawled in front of her, brimful of confidence in his destiny. A destiny Lily was only too hopeful and eager to have a part in.

"And will it really come by owl?" Lily whispered.

"Normally," said Severus. "But you're Muggle–born, so someone from the school will have to come and explain to your parents."

"Does it make a difference, being Muggle–born?"

This was something that had been gnawing at Lily ever since Severus had looked at Petunia and told her that she was a Muggle with such a spiteful tone. Now seeing him hesitate to answer when he always answered any of her questions readily and eagerly made her worry. His black eyes, eager in the greenish gloom, moved over her pale face, her dark red hair.

"No," he said. "It doesn't make any difference."

"Good," said Lily, relaxing: Though it had been clear to Severus that she had been worrying, it seems it was for nothing.

"You've got loads of magic," said Severus. "I saw that. All the time I was watching you…"

Severus' voice trailed away; however, Lily was not listening, but had stretched out on the leafy ground and was looking up at the canopy of leaves overhead. Still, Severus watched her as greedily as he had watched her in the playground.

"How are things at your house?" Lily asked after a moment's pause.

A little crease appeared between his eyes.

"Fine."

"They're not arguing anymore?"

Lily and Severus had discussed many things in her discovery of this unknown Magical World and anything else that Severus might be able to tell Lily about the Wizarding community that she so much wanted to join. In the process they had earned each other's trust and became friends. From then on they had taken to talking about everything and anything that popped into their minds and got to know each other.

Once they'd established and solidified their friendship, many a conversation revolved around Severus and his parents as much as it did about Hogwarts and the arrival of that letter that would change Lily's and his world forever.

"Oh yes, they're still arguing," said Severus. He picked up a fistful of leaves and began tearing them apart, apparently unaware of what he was doing. "But it won't be that long and I'll be gone."

"Doesn't your dad like magic?"

Sadly, Severus' father didn't approve if his mum being a witch and when it became apparent that his son was a wizard, his father did not approve of him either. It seemed, his father believed that he had been hoodwinked into loving his mother so things were hard at home for Severus and his mother, however Lily didn't know this. He had only told her that they fought a lot.

"He doesn't like anything, much," said Severus.

"Severus?"

A little smile twisted Severus' mouth when Lily said his name. It truly elated him to hear her say his name for some reason… he couldn't quite explain it, but he liked the way Lily said his name.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about the dementors again."

This was one of the things she had heard about the Wizarding world from Severus that truly frightened her and made her think twice about wanting to belong in it. But at the same time…

"What d'you want to know about them for?"

"If I use magic outside of school–"

"They wouldn't give you to the dementors for that! Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff. They guard the wizard prison Azkaban, you're too–"

He turned red again and shredded more leaves. He had been about to say that she was too _pretty_ and _nice_ to ever end up in Azkaban… Then a small rustling noise behind them made Lily and Severus turn: Petunia, hiding behind a tree, had lost her footing.

"Tuney!" said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Severus had jumped to his feet looking furious.

"Who's spying now?" he shouted. "What d'you want?"

Petunia was breathless, alarmed at being caught. Lily could see her struggle for something hurtful to say and beseeched her silently to hold her tongue.

"What is that you are wearing, anyway?" she said, pointing at Severus' chest. Lily's heart sank. "Your mum's blouse?"

There was a sudden _crack_: A branch over Petunia's head had fallen. Lily screamed: The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and she staggered backward and burst into tears.

"Tuney!"

But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Severus.

"Did you make that happen?" she demanded, looking furious.

"No." He looked both defiant and scared.

"You did!" Lily was backing away from him. "You _did_!" she accused again, with more conviction this time. "You hurt her!"

"No – no I didn't!"

But his lie did not convince Lily: After one last burning look, she ran from the little thicket, off after her sister, and leaving Severus looking miserable and confused…

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"Lily dear, will you come here a moment?" a female voice called, from somewhere within the house, interrupting the girl's musings of the past. "We're in the kitchen."

"Coming Mum!" said Lily.

Sighing, Lily got to her feet and placed her book on the windowsill (she would get to it later), wishing she could meet with Severus soon to see if anything had _changed_ for him. After that last fiasco between Petunia and Severus, it took Severus groveling for a while before Lily came around and forgave him, but eventually she did.

She had to, since she wanted to hear more about Hogwarts… and besides, she had done plenty of things she didn't mean to do when made fun of by her sister. Once Lily had seen everything on a more rational light, she had understood that Severus' hadn't been completely at fault and hadn't intentionally meant to hurt Petunia.

"Petunia darling, you too," the same voice called to Lily's older sister. A groan that echoed Lily's was heard in the distance, from above.

"Yes, Mum?" Lily said, reaching the kitchen door to find her father and mother talking quietly in the kitchen.

"–Oh, there's my beautiful fire flower," her father said, beaming at his daughter, who blushed lightly.

Her mother looked up at her and smiled proudly, her youngest daughter looked so much like herself, except for her eyes; she had her father's eyes. Mrs. Celine Evans was a pleasant woman and wonderful mother who could not be prouder of her little girls. She could go on and on about them to their neighbors or to anyone who would listen for that matter, especially about Lillian.

"Oh, Elliot, stop embarrassing her…" –her mother admonished her husband before turning to their youngest– "Would you like some lemonade or something to munch off, Lily honey? It is awfully hot outside," she added reasonably.

Lily's eyes brightened in appreciation, she loved lemonade in all its sweet sourness.

"Sure, Mum!"

"Good. Now, will you go get your sister for me and see if she wants some as well?" her mother ordered kindly. "That girl is always up in that room, even with this heat, doing God only knows what…"

"All right," Lily conceded without much enthusiasm.

Once out of sight, she scowled. Going up the stairs, stomping loudly all the way to the second landing and to her left, two doors down, she knocked gently on her sister's white door.

"Mum wants to know if you want anything, Tuney," Lily conveyed as she knocked one last time on Petunia's door. "She's made some refreshments." Lily patiently waited as she heard movement from behind it.

"I don't care, _Lillian_, now, go away!" her sister retorted opening the door and screaming on Lily's face. "_Freak_!" she added with a shudder.

Lily's eyes stung with tears and her ribcage rattled erratically with the force of her thundering heartbeat, her heart hurt. Ever since Severus had hurt Petunia, she'd refused to barely be civil with Lily and she'd taken to calling Severus _that awful boy_. Lily lowered her head and looked up, her eyes slits as she glared at her sister from under her long lashes. Petunia flinched and took a step back as Lily's temper seemed to get the better of her.

Satisfaction coursed through Lily at her sister's cowering reaction. With a vindictive smirk, Lily took a step closer to Petunia. Petunia sputtered, eyes growing wide as she tried to find some form of escapade and took yet another backward step.

"Girls, is everything all right up there?" Lily thought she distinctly heard her mother's concerned voice call, but she was not really listening. Wind seemed to be coming from all directions toward Petunia as Lily's hair flickered all around her, like fire in the midst of a strong wind, providing it with a greater flare.

"Stop it! Stop it or I'll tell Mummy!" Petunia demanded, shrieking, but young Lily seemed to be as surprised by this new development as she, her green eyes growing wide with fear. She wanted it to stop, she really did. Lily was angry, but she did not want to hurt her sister, even if Petunia had hurt her, just maybe scare her a little.

_Where was all the wind coming from? _She did not understand. It had been windless a moment ago. Lily's eyes gleamed, momentarily, a brighter shade of emerald in amusement as she understood what was going on. It was just like that one other time: _Magic_. She felt exceptionally powerful as she watched her sister cower before her and then Lily's eyes grew fearful again as she felt out of control.

_What if it turned out worse than before?_ As Lily thought this, the wind's intensity increased and her sister was lifted right off her feet, into the air and slammed unceremoniously against the opposite wall by the wind's force.

"Eeek!" Petunia squeaked as her body hit the wall.

Lily thought she heard something crack.

"Tuney!" Lily cried, panicking. She hoped and prayed it had only been her imagination. "Mum! Mummy, Tuney's hurt!"

Lily stood, petrified in place, not knowing what else to do, or how to help her sister, when she had been the one to do the damage. Not to mention, she was terrified of finding out whether she had done any permanent damage. But then, if she acted on impulse and moved her sister, she might harm her more. Feeling helpless, Lily began to cry, without realizing.

"What's going on up there?" Mr. Evans' concerned voice rang above the noise of the wind and Petunia's outraged voice.

"Daddy, it's Lily!" screeched Petunia in terrified horror. "She's somehow done something to the wind!"

"It's her fault, she provoked me!" Lily sneered for everyone to hear and glared at her sister, wiping at her tears furiously as they fell. "Besides, I didn't mean to!"

"Yes you did!"

Unable to do anything against the threatening wind, more tears fell down Lily's cheeks and her throat constricted. _How was it that she felt powerless when she had so much power?_ Lily just couldn't help it, she just felt so wound up by Petunia's constant taunts and she had finally reached exploding point. Besides, she really had not meant to harm her sister...

"Lily? Honey?" her father said, staring wide–eyed in amusement at the scene, it was taking all his self–control not to laugh. But at the same time he was worried, his little one seemed on the verge of more tears. "What happened here?"

His little angel was standing firmly on her feet in front of her older sister's room, red-faced with her little fist clenched tightly to her sides, and every painting and photograph decorating the hallway now perilous hanging from its nail, askew, on the verge of falling, but holding on as if by magic. Considering that this was his youngest daughter he was talking about, that assessment might not be so far off.

Mr. Evans cautiously approached his youngest daughter and peered inside his oldest daughter's room to see her pinned to the wall opposite the door, held several inches off the floor by the force of the fierce wind that the youngest seemed to be invoking. It was a sight to behold.

"Elliot, honey, is everything all right up there?" His wife asked, ascending the last set of stairs.

Mr. Evans, Elliot, dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. Mrs. Evans would see the scene for herself as soon as she turned the corner anyway, so there was not much to explain or be said. Sure enough, as soon as she came to stand by her husband and take in the extraordinary scene, she gasped.

"Angel?" he tried once again, placing a tender hand on his youngest shoulders. She was trembling, instantly the wind seized and his little girl was, sturdily, crying at his shoulder as he held her tightly to himself. "Hush, it's all right… Daddy's here, daddy's got you," he said soothingly as his eldest fell comically on her knees to the floor, face wet with tears, and yet it all had lost its amusement.

"Petunia, darling, are you alright?" Mrs. Evans voice asked, helping her eldest to her feet, looking concerned and angry at the same time, though her voice was kind.

Really, his wife always managed to surprise him with how many emotions she could muster at one time. His wife could still keep him seeing more and more sides of her with each passing year of their marriage. You never fully get to know someone in one lifetime; he had learned that with his Celine.

"I– I think so," Petunia stuttered disbelievingly.

"Good." Mrs. Evans placed her hands imperiously on her hips, assessing the situation. "Now, what exactly happened girls?" she demanded, glancing between Petunia and Lily, still crying, cradled at her husband's shoulder.

"Li–Lily attacked me!" Petunia said outraged, noticing that her mother seemed to be angry with her and not at Lily, like always. The injustice!

Lily stiffened and yet another gust of wind that made Petunia screech procured from Lily as she retorted, tears forgotten and voice shaking, "Because you called me a _Freak_!"

She looked so hurt, Petunia almost, almost felt guilty. But only on the slightest, to her, Lily was still on the wrong and should be admonished as such.

It was Mr. Evans turn to be angry.

"Is this true?" he demanded, eyes hard as he stared down at Petunia and stood with Lily, still clearly shaken, securely cradled in his loving embrace. Somehow he was of the idea that if he let go of her, all his efforts of trying to dissuade the increase of wind by emanating some calm would come undone. Which, considering that now he was the one getting angry, he was finding the task a bit on the demanding side.

"_Is it true_?" Mrs. Evans echoed her husband's question when Petunia didn't respond; she was gaping at them stupidly.

"Celine, I have got this," Mr. Evans interjected, glancing at his wife.

"Well?" Celine pressed on sternly, ignoring her husband. No one would call her daughter, Lillian, a freak and get away with it. Even if it was her other daughter, especially if it was her other daughter. "Answer your father, Petunia Evans."

"Yes," she responded in defiance, flinching. "That's what she is you know, look at what she just did!" she added, gesticulating erratically at her messy room, as if to further stress her point.

"Shut up, Tuney!" Lily retorted firing up.

"Petunia, Lily stop!" Mrs. Evans ordered as Petunia opened her mouth to say something hurtful. "Petunia, you don't call your own sister a freak. You do not call _anyone_ a freak, for that matter. Is that clear?" –Petunia nodded grudgingly– "Lillian Evans, control yourself. No daughter of mine makes a fool of herself, screaming like that. That is very unladylike."

"Yes, Mum," both girls murmured as they glared at one another.

"Petunia, you're grounded for a month–" Mr. Evans added with a sigh.

"–and no, you will not be going to Samaria's house today," Mrs. Evans interjected as she lifted a finger to stop Petunia as she opened her mouth from arguing.

"Mum can't you–" tried Petunia in vain, outraged, throwing daggers at Lily.

"No, Petunia, my punishment is nonnegotiable," Mrs. Evans interjected, even before Petunia finish her complaint. "Not until you learn to accept and love your family for who they are. Accept yourself, for that matter."

"Dad!" Petunia looked at Mr. Evans, hoping that he would somehow lessen her punishment or take some pity on her, no such luck.

"You want to be treated like an adult?" continued Mrs. Evans."Then accept the consequences for your actions like one." Petunia blinked; disbelieve creasing her horse–like features, disgruntled. "Now, tidy your room." –Mrs. Evans walked out into the hallway and paused– "I'll be bringing you something for supper shortly."

Petunia glanced at her father, one last attempt at a silent plea.

"Do as your mother say," Mr. Evans instructed.

Dishearten, Petunia nodded, walked to her door, and closed her bedroom door, too sharply for her mother's liking. Still, no comments were made as the rest of the Evans began to make their way down the hallway.

Mrs. Evans silently stretched a hand to Lily; once she had taken it, they headed downstairs to the kitchen without a word.

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**_..._**

* * *

"Mum?" Lily said tentatively as her mother handed her a mug full of warm tea with milk and honey. Apparently, lemonade and sconces weren't appropriate for calming nerves, but tea was. At least, according to Lily's mother.

"Yes Lily?" her mother sighed and Lily saw for the first time in a long while how age was catching up to her mother. However, none of it seemed to diminish Celine Evans' fiery beauty. In fact, Lily thought, age suited her mother well. Wisdom made up part of her beauty now.

"I'm– I'm sorry…" Lily said as a tear fell down her cheek.

"What for?" her mother asked looking up sternly, though her features were kind. "You have nothing to apologize for; your sister should be the one apologizing. Not you. And no matter what your sister tells you, you are not a freak." –Lily nodded as her father and mother both hugged her and comforted her– "You are my daughter and your father's daughter and no matter what, we love you and support you. Do you understand?"

"Mummy, why does Tuney hate me lately?" Lily asked harshly.

"Your sister… she does not know what she has, she has yet to learn how to appreciate the things she already has at hand," her mother simply explained.

Lily did not understand the meaning of this, but decided not to press for more.

"And just so you know, fire flower, your sister doesn't hate you," her father added. "She is simply trying to cope by her own means…"

Lily did not agree, nor did she digress, she simply stayed quiet and nodded. _Maybe it is one of those things that I will understand when I am older,_ Lily mused.

"Now, off you go! Find something to read… Embark in an adventure..." Mr. Evans winked at Lily. Lily chuckled.

"Have some fun," her mother added, dismissing Lily with a chuckle as her father leaned in to kiss his wife swiftly on the lips.

* * *

**_...  
_**

**_..._**

* * *

**_A/N: _**_I have made some not so subtle arrangements to this story… adding some scenes that appeared in __Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows__ by J. K. Rowling. Though I made some additions and tweaks here and there to aforementioned scenes so that they might go in accordance to what I have in mind for this story. Hopefully this version is __better__ than the original I had posted._

_ On another note, I'm going to be reposting each of the following chapters and making some choice arrangements here and there and adding some more scenes and ridding myself of others. But all in good time._

_ Please, enjoy the read and read and review if you like what you've just read!_


	2. Letters Not Necessarily from No one

**_Previously;_**

_ "Eeek!" Petunia squeaked as her body hit the wall._

_ Lily thought she heard something crack._

_ "Tuney!" Lily cried, panicking. She hoped and prayed it had only been her imagination. "Mum! Mummy, Tuney's hurt!" _

_ Lily stood, petrified in place, not knowing what else to do, or how to help her sister, when she had been the one to do the damage. Feeling helpless, Lily began to cry, without realizing._

* * *

**_..._**

**_..._**

* * *

**You Have Been Accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

_(The Lillian Evans and Marauders Story)_

**Chapter 2 **

**_ Letters Not Necessarily from No One_**

Lily sat once more by the windowsill she had been previously occupying, this time with her emerald diary made of velvet with a golden locket on her lap as she seldom looked through its pages until she found the entry she had been looking for. Taking a moment to glance at the two ends of her street with a dying surge of hope and finding nothing but the still deserted suburb, Lily allowed the pages of her diary to recapture her attention and began to read.

* * *

**…**

* * *

_Summer, 1966_

_Dear Diary,_

_I've known for a while now that my sister doesn't always like me, but today, I proved myself wrong. Tuney, she hates me, really hates me! I think she wishes to never, ever speak to me again and I don't understand why. _

_ She says she won't play with me anymore if I keep doing "funny" things… "It's not natural," she says. But I really don't know how to stop… or if I want it to stop. Is there something terribly wrong with me?_

* * *

_..._

* * *

_Fall, 1996_

_Dear Diary,_

_ Something strange happened to me today, and I'm really scared... _

_ While we were having dinner as a family and I was tasked with setting up the table Petunia made me trip while mummy and daddy weren't looking. Then she said the foulest thing, she said that I didn't belong… _

_ …Maybe she's right? _

_ That's what I was thinking when, all of a sudden, I was very, very cross with Tuney and I felt very powerful, like I could do anything. And then, everything around me started to rattle until every glass was in pieces and suspended in the air as if by __magic__! Some of them aimed at Petunia and cut her, but surprisingly none of them cut me or mum or dad. Why was that? And how did it happen? _

_ I think… I think I made it happen, somehow. At least, Petunia thinks I did. She really hates me now, because I really hurt her… But I know I didn't mean to, at least, I think I didn't. Honest, I didn't._

* * *

_..._

* * *

Lily ran her fingers over the chicken-scratches of her penmanship and smiled ruefully as her fingers came to a stop where the words were slightly blurred from her tears. She had been crying as she recorded her day and poured her heart into the pages of her diary, which held all her secrets, dreams, and fears, Lily remembered.

She also remembered that that day Petunia had called her a freak for the first time, right in front of their mum and dad, who seemed unfazed by the accident. As if what had happened was something _natural _that could just happen to anyone. They had also admonished Petunia on using the _F_ word when referring to Lily, her little sister. Reminding her that she was to be Lily's keeper and protect her at all times, because she was the oldest.

Later, Lily learned that she had done several things of that same magical nature when she had been much younger, though nothing quite as catastrophic as braking china. After Lily managed to persuade her mum and dad to tell her about all the other times she had done something unusual in the past, not that they had needed much persuading, she learned plenty about herself.

Lily learned that, as her parents kept pointing out, she was _special _and that she could do things that others couldn't. Like, make a withering bloom again in the palm of her hand… become weightless, re-grow her hair from one day to the next and so many other things. Everything Lily learned was enough to make her feel as special as her parents thought her to be.

Also, knowing that no matter what her parents would always love and support her, something that became apparent with each retelling they revealed, helped Lily deal immensely. Lily could tell that Mr. and Mrs. Evans were highly amused and proud of their youngest daughter no matter how outrageous each occasion they could recall and retell her ended up being. Strangeness and all, they simply accepted their youngest daughter for whom she was and couldn't love her any more if they tried.

_But then, why is my sister any different? _Lily often found herself wondering.

As far as the story telling went, Lily learned the following:

Once, she had set a yellow dress that she _really _did not want to wear and was going to be forced into wearing for some important dinner or other on fire (apparently she hates the color yellow, and even to present day, or so her mum said).

Then, when Lily got her first haircut at the age of three, the hairdresser had cut her hair too short for her liking and given her a fringe on top of it all. Needless to say, when Lily looked at her reflection in the mirror she instantly started to cry, making it obvious that she didn't like her new look one bit. Her mum had tried to calm her down of course, saying it would grow, but it didn't really get through to her.

Mrs. Evans, seeing how inconsolable her daughter was promised her daughter some ice-cream on the way home to sooth Lily in some small way. Though it worked for a little while, the matter was made worse by Petunia poking fun at Lily once they were home and she'd started to cry anew. Having no other choice but to let Lily sleep in their bed that night, Mr. and Mrs. Evans had woken up to quite a surprise the following morning. Lily's hair had grown back to its previous length overnight! …It was a long time after that and a lot of bribing from her parents before Lily would let someone touch her hair again.

_"You wouldn't even so much as pick up your own scissors to cup up your homework!_ _You'd simply cry as soon as you saw any scissors up close, now that I remember…" _her parents had told her as they chuckled. _"At least you to skip through that hair cutting phase children go through," _her mother had added, _"which made things so much easier for us… Not Petunia, though. We ended up having to cut most of her hair. Do you remember, Elliot?"_

There was also the time when a boy older than Lily had kept on teasing, nudging, and pushing her around every chance he got, until it became one too many times. Eventually, his little game grew old and the moment came when Lily decided she had had enough of his insistent bullying after a crappy day of bruises and scrapes from being pushed down.

The following day, Lily had tried to avoid the boy, but soon found it impossible to continue doing so. With Lily's resolve to putting an end to the boy's bullying running through her determined mind, Lily found it easier to be brave and hold her ground by the time he came around to try and make her miserable again.

Lily had faced him bravely, shoulders squared, though she was terrified the moment he sneered at her. Still, she wouldn't back down! The boy advanced on her, Lily closed her eyes in an attempt to steel herself for the blow. However, the blow never came. Inexplicably, when he reached out to push Lily down, he was zapped with some sort of electricity and his hair began to smoke! And after that, he never went near Lily again, though she hadn't _really _harmed him.

Lily sighed as she read the last entry she had been looking for; her handwriting was almost unreadable for it looked like it had been smudged by spilled tears, and mainly, because she still had very bad handwriting at the time, being a first grader and all.

She smiled and decided that she would not take to heart what Petunia said to her anymore, not if her parents still approved of her. Lily sighed, yet again, and stared out the window. A strange sight met her; there was a black speck in the sky growing larger and larger the longer she stared at it… Lily's heart hammered with anticipation… _It can't be!_ Lily thought, though she hoped it _was_. She had been waiting for this since, well, since her birthday!

Lily squinted and pressed her nose against the glass of the open window, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. It was undeniable, a bird was flying straight at her and it seemed to be holding something in its beak. Something that would change life as Lily knew it forever… On closer inspection, Lily realized with a jolt that the "bird" was actually an owl. Strange, the owl, a barn owl, kept loosing height and flying her way…

_No_… _yes_!_ Blimey, can it really be?_ Lily held her breath.

Had Severus been telling her the truth all along? Would this finally proof Petunia wrong? Lily had hoped that Severus had been telling her the truth, after all. But now… Closer and closer the owl flew, loosing altitude and once it came too close, Lily docked and slid off her seat with her hands over her head, thinking that the owl might not be able to stop on time and crash with her in its attempt to sweep in through the open window and land.

A moment of silence passed… Lily had been expecting to hear a crash, indicating that the owl had hit the opposite wall, but it never came. What she did hear was a low, important hoot from behind her. Turning, Lily noticed that the owl was perched casually on the open windowsill, still holding its package in its beak: a letter.

Lily giggled at the peculiar sight. The owl looked comical with its too big parcel. The owl blinked slowly up at Lily and gave her another soft hoot. Lily reached out; stroking its soft, brown feathers tentatively and then froze as she realized that the letter was actually addressed to her. Lily's heart skipped a beat and then jack hammered against her chest, leaving her breathless.

In spidery letters it read:

_Miss L. R. Evans_

_Windowsill by the First Corridor_

_7 Rosetta Road,_

_Cokeworth,_

_England_

The envelope was thick and heavy, made of a yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald–green ink that gleamed. There seemed to be no returning address or stamp. That was very strange and curious. And yet, she couldn't help but think that she knew _exactly _what that envelope held…

For a moment Lily sat motionless, staring at the envelope with suspicion and the owl eyed her, telling her with its eyes to take the ominous envelope. Lily shook her head. After months of hoping and dreaming, she didn't think she was brave enough to know, after all, if Severus had been lying to her, like Petunia suspected, or not.

"That's right, Lillian," Lily told herself. "You are reading too much into things. You simply needed to calm down…" Taking a deep breath, Lily looked warily at the envelope and glared at the owl. The owl hooted encouragingly. Lily had to giggle; the owl just took away the danger from it all with its comical appearance.

Deciding to take a risk and put an end to her mounting exhilaration and curiosity, Lily took the envelope form the beak of the owl. Another deep breathe. The owl hooted, turned, spread its wings, and jumped into the air, and left, its task done. Lily turned the envelope over and her hand trembled with the course of her anticipation. She saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large elegant letter _H_.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_ Just as Severus had described it… _Lily couldn't take it anymore, she carefully slid the envelope open, causing the seal to crumble, and took out the heavy letter from within with trembling hands. Almost afraid to do so, Lily flattened the contents of the letter on her lap and began to read:

Dear Miss Lillian Rose Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

**_Minerva McGonagall_**

_Deputy Headmistress_

* * *

_..._

* * *

Lily was gaping at the letter in disbelief and yet a big part of her knew that it was, somehow, believable, and her heart began racing as she thought of everything Severus had ever told her about Hogwarts and the Wizarding World. Shaking her head, Lily went on and proceeded to read the second piece of parchment attached to the first:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First–year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry nametags

* * *

...

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot

_Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore

_Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self–Protection _by Quentin Trimble

* * *

...

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

* * *

...

* * *

"M– M–Mum, D– D– Dad!" Lily gasped, stuttering with disbelief.

"In the kitchen, Lily dear!" said Mrs. Evans. "What's wrong?"

"Please let this be true, please, please…," prayed Lily as she ran to the kitchen to find her parents and make sure that they, too, could read what she was reading. Otherwise, they would need to pinch her and let her know that she had only been dreaming. Even if it crushed her spirit, she needed to find out before she got her hopes up.

_Had Severus, too, gotten a letter like this one?_ Lily could not help but wonder, though she all ready knew the answer. _And if he had, what did that mean? _Again, another question that she knew the answer to, but it all seemed so _unreal_. Because, it was written there in plain, legible green ink: _I am a witch!_

"Mum! Mum look!" said Lily the moment she spied her mother's dress.

"Lillian, honey, what's the matter?" a harassed looking Mrs. Evans asked as her daughter appeared by the kitchen doorframe. Her daughter looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her eyes too bright and wide. Clearly, there was something of great distress going on and Mrs. Evans was worried as she hurried to her daughter's side, wiping her hands dry on her apron as she went.

"Look at this Mum!" Lily said entrusting her mother with the letter of acceptance from Hogwarts. "An–owl–just–flew–in–through–the–window–carrying–this–and–it–was–addressed–to–me–and–it–says–I'm–a–I'm–a–witch!" Lily said in one breath, blood pooling at her cheeks.

Mrs. Evans blinked at her daughter, frowning.

"Lily, honey, you need to slow down, I can't understand a–" Mrs. Evans stopped in mid sentence as she read the letter's first line. A jolt went through her.

"Where's dad?" wondered Lily, only just noticing that Mr. Evans wasn't in the kitchen.

"Elliot! Oh my goodness– Elliot, come quick!" Celine exclaimed with joy, as her eyes quickly scanned the rest of the letter and the next, flushed with excitement.

"Celine, Lily, what's going on?" Mr. Evans asked as he came rushing back into the house, entering from the side door that lead to the garage.

Taking in the sight of his wife and daughter's wide, bright eyes as they poured over a letter, he frowned and hurried over to the pair as his curiosity mounted. Peering curiously over his wife's shoulder at the letter she was holding and wrapping an arm around her waist, he read the content of the letter.

Immediately, he read the rest of the letter in a hurried, eager haze and his emerald eyes went wide as they found Lily's.

For a moment Lily fidgeted under the unwavering gleam of her father's stare, scared of what she might find there, but then she realized that she had been silly to have such worries. Her father's eyes had a proud gleam to them and so did Celine's chocolate one's.

"Blimey!" _It finally came! _He couldn't believe it! Even though he had been expecting the letter since January… The only thing he could do was gaze at his daughter in wonderment and appraisal.

"I know!" breathed Mrs. Evans.

There was a moment's silence and it was broken as the Evans simultaneously hugged and kissed their daughter, a cacophony of jubilant chatter expressing what they felt in the moment.

"Our daughter's a witch!"

Though words failed them, they tried to convey how very proud of Lily they were and explained that they had heard all about Hogwarts from McGonagall herself… she had come to them on January 30th, the night of Lily's eleventh birthday, to inform them that their daughter was a witch and needed schooling. Therefore, they were to expect an acceptance letter by owl post sometime in July.

After their astonishment of this news wore off, it gave way to excitement. It was only logical, after all, for their daughter to end up being someone this special. They were beside themselves with elation but had decided to let their daughter to find out all on her own just how extraordinary she truly was.

Of course, they've been hearing Lily talk in passing about this new friend she had made by the name of Severus Snape, who claimed to be a wizard and then had told Lily that she was a witch like his mum, and eventually told Lily all about Hogwarts. But that had been nearly a year ago, and this wasn't the same. No, now Lily and her parents had undeniable proof in their hands!

* * *

…

* * *

"Am I _really _going to get to go, Mum, Dad?" Lily asked nervously with a hopeful gleam in her emerald eyes. "Is– Is it true then, I'm a… I'm a w–witch?"

The word felt awkward and right to her tongue, it sent electric vibrations of elation through her entire petite frame as if asserting their conviction.

"Of course you are." Like they could say no to that face! "You'll be learning magic at Hogwarts, the greatest Wizarding School in Britain!" her father assured her excitedly, rambling on. "And not only that, you'll be under the supervision of the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had, Albus Dumbledore!"

Lily and her mother beamed.

"Or so we've heard about Dumbledore, from his deputy Headmistress," added Mrs. Evans. "I mean, we haven't met the man personally or anything but…we've met Professor McGonagall and what she showed us… The things she could do!"

Lily did not question why her parents had kept quiet about meeting McGonagall and finding out that their daughter was a witch or that there was a school where she could go study the craft or that there was a whole world hidden from view, the Wizarding World, right in the open without anyone being none the wiser. Lily decided, though she was curious to know the answer, that it was irrelevant to ask now, but she promised herself she would find out eventually.

In that same decisive manner, Lily made up her mind about another thing. She needed to talk to Severus. And she would, hopefully, before September first came around. She just had to. She needed to make sure that he had gotten his letter too and to let him know that he was right and she had gotten hers too! He would be just as thrilled as she was, she was sure of it!

"Yay!" Lily exclaimed, gaining another set of hugs and kisses from her parents as she hoped up and down with ecstasy. "Oooh, I can't wait to tell Severus!" She also could not wait to learn and ask him more about Hogwarts.

"You've got to invite him over some time," said her mother.

"That would be a brilliant idea, darling!" agreed her father. "If we are to assume that he'll be attending as well, it'll be great to know that you've all ready made a friend before getting there."

"I'll be sure to let him know when I see him. I'm sure he'd like to meet you…" said Lily, glad that her parents were so keen on the idea.

"Do you know where the school is?" Lily wondered.

"Scotland, I believe," her father answered.

"How will I be getting there?"

"By train. The Hogwarts Express, if I remember correctly," said Mr. Evans.

Lily had never been on a train, but she couldn't wait to find out what that experience would be like.

"Listen," said Mrs. Evans, "you've got to promise to tell us everything you see and learn the moment you get home!"

"Of–"

"What's going on?" interrupted Petunia, her hoarsely voice laced with wariness. "What's with all the excitement?" Petunia eyed them suspiciously, envious of the fact that the 'little freak' was getting so much attention from their parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans glanced between one another and shrugged as they chorused happily, "Your sister's a witch!"

At the words Petunia's eyes widened as she mouthed the words 'what?' over and over again as her parents handed her the letter of acceptance for her to read.

"She just got her letter," said Mrs. Evans. "Now your sister will be going away this September to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy to learn how to be a proper witch."

Petunia accepted the letter in a haze and stared from the letter to her parents to Lily and back again in utter disbelief… She had been so sure that that awful boy had been lying to Lily, so sure… But then, here was the proof! _How is this possible!_

"This is a lie…" Petunia simply refused to believe otherwise. "This is probably all that– that boy's doing... this is rubbish… it has to be!"

"No, Tuney!" Lily giggled. "Mummy and Daddy said that one of the teachers came to see them the night of my birthday and told them everything! And my letter just came today, by owl post!"

Petunia glanced at her parents, hoping to hear otherwise but they simply nodded and Petunia only managed to shake her head in denial before finally fainting.

* * *

...

* * *

When Petunia came about she was lying on the living room sofa and Lily and her parents where peering down at her worriedly. Sitting bolt upright, Petunia felt momentarily lightheaded. Pushing through the fog in her head she stared from her parents to Lily in turn and back again, trying to piece together why they were all staring at her like she might start spitting fire any moment.

"What happened?" asked Petunia shakily, confused.

"Umm… Mum and Dad mentioned, well– they told you that I was to attend Hogwarts, a Wizarding School, and, then, you sort of fainted," Lily stated bluntly as she smiled broadly. Petunia's eyes widened and then narrowed.

"You're joking?" she begged but her family shook their heads and pulled her into a family hug. Petunia tried to shy away from it, an impossible task it proved to be.

"Isn't it brilliant?" Mr. Evans commented. "We have a witch in the family!" he added, laughing merrily.

"A freak is–"

"Petunia Davidia Evans! If you have nothing nice to say to your sister, do not say anything at all," snapped Celine. "And if I may add, your father and I are very proud of Lily. She will now be going to boarding school at Hogwarts come the first of September. Though, we'll miss her terribly… since she'll be gone for about ten months out of the year..."

"But she'll be home for the holidays!" Mr. Evans reminded his wife brightly, before she could get her spirits down with that train of thought. "And we can hear all about Hogwarts from Lily then, right, Celine, dear?"

"That's right, Elliot," agreed Mrs. Evans, her smile returning.

"And you'll just send off Lily to some strange place to learn… witchcraft?" asked Petunia, alarmed. Despite herself, Lily was her little sister and she worried about her. And right now, though she wouldn't say it out loud, Petunia was feeling rather jealous of her sister and her unnaturalness. She always had been. It really wasn't fair, why couldn't she do what Lily could too.

"Well, your sister needs to learn how to hone and control her gifts in a safe environment," her father explained. "Hogwarts is that place. From what we've been told and shown, it's the best school there is for her."

"Yes," her mother agreed, readily. "We've been assured that any problems that might arise, we'll be contacted immediately."

"–And Lily will be able to contact us as often as she'd like by, get this, _owl _post," said Mr. Evans enthusiastically.

"Just like how my letter came to me today?" wondered Lily, her tone awed.

"Just like that," agreed Mr. Evans. "Professor McGonagall said that even if you don't have an owl there are school owls that any student can use at any time to contact home."

"Wicked!"

"But– but," Petunia tried to protest, though her attempt was rather feeble as the anticipation of her family mounted.

"What sort of subjects do you think they'll teach me at Hogwarts, mum?" Lily mused. "I hope I don't still have to take math! That'll be a downright bummer!"

This question also interested Petunia so she paid attention despite herself, feeling a twinge of jealousy once again. Mr. and Mrs. Evans chuckled, approving of the eagerness their youngest was exhibiting.

"Well, we'll be going to buy all your school materials in about two weeks, when we get our weeks' vacation, and I guess we can look through the books and see what sort of subjects you'll be looking forward to," said Mrs. Evans sagely.

"Ooooh!" Lily couldn't be more elated. "I can't wait! I'll still have plenty of time to read through some of the books during the month of August …"

"Now that you mention," mumbled Mrs. Evans, "where do we go to shop for all these?"

"Petunia, if you want to come with us, you may. If not, you are to stay here, and do your chores for you'll still be grounded," Mr. Evans added sternly, pulling Petunia aside from the festivities of the moment while Lily and Celine talked.

Petunia looked as if she had been doused in cold water, her perfect home was turning into a nightmare, and she could not believe that her parents were actually supporting her dratted sister, as far as she knew her sister did not exist.

"I'll rather stay," Petunia spat with her jaw clenched, "and do my chores."

"You don't think they sell that at the mall, do you mum?"

"No, no I don't…," said Mrs. Evans, "Perhaps we ought to contact Professor McGonagall a few days before we go get your things… I'm sure she'll be able to tell us."

"What will you be telling the neighbors once they start noticing Lily's gone?" sneered Petunia.

"This is all very secret and you are to tell no one about your sister being a witch and if anyone asks, you'll say that your sister was admitted to a Private Boarding School," her father warned. "And watch your tone young lady."

"Like I would _like _to tell anyone, no one would believe me anyway," scoffed Petunia indignantly, that seemed to be good enough reassurance for her parents, they were satisfied. Now that she thought about it, Lily would be gone for most of the year… she fidgeted nervously at the thought. Why couldn't _she_ go too? "May I go back to my room now?"

"Go," said her father, turning from her and pulling Lily into a tight embrace.

Petunia's chin quivered as she tried not to cry. It just wouldn't do for Lily or her parents to see her cry, they wouldn't care anyway. It really wasn't fair… Petunia began to make her way upstairs, certain that she could make it to her room without being missed or breaking down.

"Supper will be ready at seven. Come down by then," Celine informed Petunia as she started to climb the stairs back to her room, just when she thought she had left unnoticed. That simple acknowledgment eased Petunia's pain a fraction.

"All right," said Petunia as she climbed the stairs two at a time. Once out of sight, she slipped into her room and closed the door, sinking to the floor with her back against the door and bursting into tears.

_ 'Why is this happening? All I wanted was a normal life…'_ cried Petunia. _'I'll make sure no one ever knows. If they were to find out, they'll ridicule me too.'_ Petunia reasoned, resolute.

* * *

...

* * *

_Downstairs…_

"You know… it says here that I can take a pet…" commented Lily airily.

"We'll see about that," chuckled her mother, seeing right through her daughter's implications; she sure was cunningly clever sometimes.

* * *

**…**

**…**

* * *

**_ A/N: _**_Now, this is the improved version of chapter two. Thank you for reading, I'll be working on chapter three now. I'd love to hear some feedback if you can provide it._


	3. Keeper at Leaky Cauldron

You Have Been Accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

(The Lillian Evans and Marauders Story)

**Keeper at Leaky Cauldron**

By the first week of August Lily and her parents were excitedly planning about their trip to Diagon Alley, a famous place that they had been told, through another letter, was in London, thinking and speculating about what they may find there and how they would react to it.

And so the fifth of August, a Saturday, found the Evans standing outside a tiny, grubby-looking pub called the Leakey Cauldron. If they hadn't been intently looking for it, they would have probably missed it, though it was really Lily the one that had pointed it out. There were people hurrying by and they seemed to not glance at it. Their eyes would travel from the big book shop on the right to the record shop on the left as if they couldn't see the Leakey Cauldron at all. In fact, Lily had the peculiar feeling that only she and her parents could see it. Lily, excitedly and unable to wait any longer steered her parents inside.

For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old men where sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of something smoking that Lily could not recognize. The one on the far corner was smoking a long pipe that produced green smoke. A giant of a man with a shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard that almost completely hid his face sat talking to the bartender, who was going bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter had stopped when the walked in. Everyone seemed to be looking at them expectantly. The bartender reached for a glass, saying, "Anything I can get for you?"

"No need Tom, Hogwarts business," the giant man said. "Yer the Evans right? Hagrid at yer service," Hagrid said introducing himself as the Evans nodded, shaking the Evans hands in turn. "And yer must be Lily" he commented shaking Lily's small hand in his abnormally large one's, "Nice ter meet ya."

"Yes," Lily said shyly, "you too."

"Well, nice to meet yer all, now, if yer f'llow me I'll take yer into Diagon Alley, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans, Lily" Hagrid offered smiling at them.

"Please, call me by my name, Amber," offered Mrs. Evans with a kind smile.

"And call me, Elliot," added Mr. Evans shaking the giant man's hand.

"Very well," grinned Hagrid as he waved for them to follow. Hagrid led them through the bar and into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.

Hagrid grinned at them.

"Now, where's me umbrella?" the Evans had no idea why Hagrid needed an umbrella but left him to search his many pockets for it, finally he found it.

"There we are," Hagrid beamed brightly, showing them a pink umbrella as he turned to the brick wall and began to count bricks in the wall above the trash can.

"Three up… two across…" he muttered. "Right, stand back."

He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.

The brick he had touched quivered- it wriggled- in the middle, a small hole appeared- it grew wider and wider- a second later they were facing an archway large enough for even Hagrid, an archway into a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."

He grinned at the Evans amazement. They stepped through the archway. Lily quickly looked over her shoulder and saw the archway shrinking instantly back into solid wall.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons- All sizes- Copper, Brass Pewter, Silver- Self-Stirring- Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them, Mr. and Mrs. Evans noted, as Lily looked everywhere.

"Yeah, she'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money turned into Galleons firs'."

The Evans wished they had about ten to twenty more eyes. They would turn their heads in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A tall, elegant woman that seemed to have a nasty temper was apprehending her son outside an Apothecary for merely bumping into another boy, shaking her finger at him, and saying, "Be careful, you know better, no son of mine wants to go bumping into filth…" the boy just nodded his raven head, his gaze on the floor, hair falling into his eyes.

A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium- Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy. Several boys about Lily's age had their noses presses against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Lily heard one of them say to whom she assume was his father, "The new Nimbus Nineteen Hundred- fastest model yet-"

There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Lily and her parents had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon… and many more things that Lily couldn't possibly name, but she was itching to go back to that one shop with the many stocks of books.

"Gringotts," said Hagrid.

They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the rest of the little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold was-

"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps towards them at their inquiring, curious looks. The goblin was about a quarter inch shorter than Lily. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed graying beard and, Lily noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed in acknowledgement as they walked inside, holding the door open for them. Now the faced a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words elegantly engraved upon them:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

"Yeh'd be barkin' mad ter try an' rob here," said Hagrid.

A pair of goblins bowed them trough the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall, while Lily fantasized about what more than a treasure could be found beneath Gringotts floors. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There where too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and the Evans made for the counter.

"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter exchange some Muggle money into Galleons for Ms. Lillian Evans."

"And would you like to add some funds to Ms. Evans vault?"

"Her vault?" the Evans asked taken aback but sounding pleased.

"Yes, every Hogwarts student, witch or wizard ought to have one," the goblin explained in a monotonous voice, matter-of-factly.

"Yes we would then," Mr. Evans decided, "We'll deposit about… a thousand and give you about an extra two hundred to turn into- Galleons," he added consulting with his wife as he grasped for the unusual wordings the wizarding world had for money.

"You have her key, sir?"

"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Lily watched the goblin on their left weighing a pile of sapphires as big as glowing coals.

"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key. The goblin looked at it closely.

"That seems to be in order."

Mr. Evans gave the goblin the number for his Muggle bank account from which they would be withdrawing the thousand dollars for Lily's vault and handed him two hundred dollars cash, the goblin took the money and counted it. Once sure that the amount was correct with a flicker of a wand their money was changed before their eyes into gold, silver and bronze coins.

"Everything is in order; your daughter's vault now holds a small fortune in her vaults."

"Thank you" Mr. Evans said taking the pouch of Galleons and handing it to Lily to hold.

"The gold ones are Galleons," Hagrid explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, its easy enough." He turned to the goblin, "Thank you that would be all for today."

Once outside Lily couldn't decide where she wanted to go next, now that she had a pouch full of money to spend for herself.

"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding towards Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Amber, Elliot, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a m'ment? I got to get a slug repellant…."

"That would be fine Hagrid," Amber assure him sending him off.

Lily and her parents entered Madam Malkin's shop. Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed in mauve.

"Hogwarts, dears?" she said, when Amber started to peak. "Not to worry got the lot here- another young lady being fitted up just now, in fact."

In the back of the shop, a girl with a pale, pretty face and another that looked like she could be her sister, except for the fact that she was the entire opposite of her and perhaps a few years older, were standing on a footstool while a second and a third witch pinned up their long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Lily on a stool next to her, slipped a long robe over her head, and began to pin it to the right length.

"Hello," said the pretty faced girl, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," said Lily, "Hello."

"Our father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the girl. She had a bored, musically drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at the brooms. I really don't see why we first years can't have our own. I think we'll coax father into getting us one and we'll smuggle it in somehow."

Lily was strongly reminded of Petunia for some reason.

"Have _you_ got your own broom yet?" the girl went on.

"No," said Lily.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No," Lily said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be, though she wasn't about to ask. Meanwhile, Amber looked around the shop at the many dress robes with interest, occasionally complementing on how pretty the color, lace or the pattern of the robes were and Roald just stood near by, observing the conversation.

"_We _do and so does my sister- Our father says it's not a very lady like sport, but we like it, and mother says it's a crime if we're not picked to play for our house, and I must say, I agree, with our mother that is. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No," said Lily, feeling more stupid by the minute and wandering what did the girl meant by house.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been- imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave or die, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm," said Lily, whishing all the while that she could say something a bit more interesting.

"I say, look at that man!" said the girl's sister suddenly, nodding towards the front window, she sounded manic. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Lily and the Evans.

"That's Hagrid," said Lily, pleased to know something that the other girls didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh," said the girl smugly, "We've heard of him. He became a sort of servant, didn't he, after he got suspended on his third year and got his wand snapped in two?"

"He's a gamekeeper," said Lily, coldly. She liked the girls less and less every second; even if the other had rarely spoken, she knew the other was as pleasant as the first and by the look on her father's face; he seemed to think the same.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a _savage _too- lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets _real _drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"I think he's brilliant," said Lily, the more coldly.

"_Do _you?" said the girl's sister, with a sneer as the other snorted. "Why is he with you? Aren't those your parents?"

"Yes, he's with us," said Lily shortly, "and they're my parents." She didn't feel like talking to the girl anymore and yet the girl still persisted on talking to her.

"Oh, sorry," said the other, sarcastically at the news that Hagrid was actually with them. "But they are _our _kind, aren't they?" she asked, jerking her head to were her mum was talking to her dad in hurried whispers.

"A witch and a wizard, is that what you mean?" the girls nodded, "I don't think why that would matter."

"Well, the thing is that we really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old Wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

But before Lily could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's it you done, my dear," and Lily, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the girl, hopped down from the footstool.

"Well, we'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling girl, "until then."

"Yeah, you know, I'm one of those- of the _other _sort, and I hope that whatever house I'm in you lot aren't in," Lily sneered turning to see the girls shocked faces, "Evans the name by the way, Lillian Evans, no need to know yours I suppose." And with that Lily and her parents left the shop knowing that she had made two new enemies, even before the school year had started, not much of a tragedy in her opinion.

"What's up?" Hagrid asked peering down at Lily's slightly flushed face.

"Nothing," said Lily, "just made too new enemies and I don't even know their names!" Hagrid looked slightly worried but said nothing. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Lily cheered up a bit when she found of ink that changed colors as you wrote and a multicolored one that actually worked, unlike the pencils she had tried before. When they had left the shop, from which Lily almost had to drag her mother out of, she asked, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"

"Blimey, Lily, I keep forgettin' how little yeh lot knows- not knowin' about Quidditch!"

"Don't make us feel worse," Lily groaned. She told Hagrid about the pale girl and her sister from Madan Malkin's while her parents too listened intently.

"-and she said people that weren't from the old Wizarding families shouldn't even be allowed in-"

"Yer don't have to listen to her, what do they know about it, some o' the best witches and wizards I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles-" said Hagrid.

"Muggles?" Lily asked frowning.

"None magic folk" Hagrid explained.

"So what _is _Quidditch? It sounded like a sport."

"It is. It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like-" Hagrid began explaining but then stopped as he saw an owl flying toward him, getting nearer it dropped a letter for him. Scanning it quickly he paled and excused himself. "Dumbledore seems ter need me, I got ter go now," he explained, "but I'm sure yeh'll find yer way 'round."

"It's alright Hagrid, honest, we'll find it all right" Roald assured him, "thank you for showing us around so far."

"Yes, thank you Hagrid," said Amber.

"Oh, before I go," Hagrid said searching his pockets and taking out an envelope and handing it Lily, "that's yer ticket fer when yeh take the train to go to Hogwarts, don't loose it." With that he disappeared before they even had the chance to say thanks again.

With that they went and bought Lily's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Petunia, who rarely read anything unless it was school assigned, would have been wild to get her hands on some of these. Celine and Roald had to drag Lily away from _Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Munch, Munch More) _by Professor Vindictus Viridian. Lily vowed to later order it and learn from it, hair loss could go a long way….

"I was trying to find how best to curse Petunia," Lily admitted bluntly.

"I'm not saying that's not a good idea, pumpkin, but you're not to use magic outside of school except in very special circumstances," said Elliot, chuckling lightly as did Amber at Lily's serious face and blunt statement.

"And I don't think you could work any of those curses just yet, from the look of it you'll need more study- which you haven't yet started- before you get to that level" Amber added reasonably.

Amber wouldn't let Lily buy a solid silver cauldron, either ("It says pewter on you list, Lily, dear"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope, which Lily fell in love with. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrid smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotting cabbages. Barrel of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Amber and Elliot asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Lily, Lily herself examined silver unicorn horns (or so it said there) at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop and something that strangely enough looked like some ones brain… hastily, Lily begged her parents out of the store.

Outside the Apothecary, Amber checked Lily's list again.

"Just the wand left then- oh yeah, and we still need to find you a pet so you can take to school."

Lily felt herself blush lightly as she grinned.

"Thanks mum!"

"You deserve it darling, so start thinking what you want, we'll go get your wand first and then come back and get your pet. How's that?"

"No need, I already know what I want," Lily said quickly, feeling breathless, with a little enthusiastic skip.

"And what would that be?" her father asked curiously.

"An owl!" Lily chirped as her parents laughed at her enthusiasm.

Thirty minutes later, they left the Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jeweled-bright eyes.

Lily now carried a large cage that held a beautiful Eastern screech owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. She couldn't stop stammering her thanks with a little bounce in her walk.

"Just your wand now," Elliot said, chuckling merrily at her daughter's evident glee.

A magic wand… this was what Lily had been really looking forward to, wandering how she was to choose one if they gave her as much as a variety to choose from.

Asking around where best to go for a wand they were told to go to a place called Ollivanders, ("Only place for wands, Ollivanders") a batty old lady had told them, pointing them in the right direction.

Lily was, now, shuffling her owl's cage from side to side, it was becoming heavy but she wanted to carry it herself and that's how it all happened.

Lily couldn't really see in front of her so she stopped for a little arm rest, as her parents, unnoticed by Lily, went ahead, but the problem was that she wasn't looking where she was going and-

"Too bad mum already got me a broom-"

"Tell me about it!"

"You think she'll let me exchange?"

"Fat chance"

"sight You're right, but there's always a façade of an 'accidental' broken bro-"

"Umph!"

"Ouch!"

"Ouww…"

"Sorry, my fault, wasn't-" a young boy's voice began to apologize but stopped upon seeing the redhead lying under him, he blushed embarrassed, wandering how he had gotten into this predicament.

"Wasn't looking, my fault- um… I can't breathe…" Lily started apologizing, eyes watering, at the same time, when she realized that a boy was actually on top of her and her cage wasn't in her hand, and strangely enough, her landing had been soft….

"Hmmhmmhhm," said an incoherent something as if someone was trying to speak.

"Uh… Oh! My fault again…" said the boy blushing with embarrassment as he stood and offered his hand to help the redhead before him up, "Up you go then!"

"Thank you," said Lily as she took the boy's helping hand in hers.

"No problem," the boy assured her. "And how did you end up under there?" the boy asked amused, once more stretching out his hand, this time to a messy haired boy, who apparently had served as Lily's landing ground, soft at that, Lily blushed.

"This is exactly what I was- Oh, is this your owl?- exactly what I was talking about! You seeeeee! I'm a magnet today!" exclaimed the second boy, amused as he interrupted himself and handed Lily her owl's cage. "First I go rocketing up your-"

"Thank you," Lily said in a small, shy, voice but she was ignored as the boys continued their two-sided conversation.

"Yeah, now I can see what you mean… Victim number one me!" the first boy admitted, frowning with amusment.

"If anyone's the victim it's me!" protested the other in indignation, though his voice held laughter.

"Then that peaky Lupin folk- I liked him though- then that nervous wreck- what was his name?" the boy continued as if there had been no interruption, counting off the 'victims' as they called them with his elegant fingers, "who cares- and now this young lady- which, incidentally, we don't know her name," and with that their attention was brought to Lily again, who blushed meeting the first boys eyes. They were a grey, like she'd never seen before, stormy but kind and keen at the same time, with onyx hair falling elegantly onto his eyes.

"Er- sorry about that, my fault," said the second boy who had a storm of raven black hair and spectacles, there was something about him that Lily couldn't place.

"Don't try to steal all the glory, I too knocked her to the floor," protested the first as if that was something to brag about. "Anyways… Ignore the troll," he added addressing Lily with a jerky nod towards the second boy, Lily snickered.

"Hey!" protested his friend?

"Sirius," said the first stretching out his hand in greeting, ignoring the other's protest, amusement visible in his eyes, and Lily frowned in puzzlement, head slightly tilted to one side.

"Um…" Lily said taking his hand and bighting her bottom lip, "why are you serious? You… don't have to be all serious about this; it was an honest mistake…" said Lily, knowing that if she didn't it would eat at her, but her question was met by laughter from the other boy.

"Jajajajajaj… oh, she is goo-oo- ood!" roared the boy as he dried tears of joy from his spectacled eyes.

"Shot it pothead!" sneered the other, though he didn't seemed bothered, it seemed that he had expected this to happen.

"Is that the best you've got? Pothead? I'll bet anything that a toad could come up with a better retort than that!" the boy said as he continued to laugh uncontrollably, as he added, "I think you're getting rusty mate!" Lily was utterly confused.

"Because that's my name," he explained curtly to Lily as he slightly blushed under her questioning look, ignoring his laughing friend with as much dignity as he could muster and great effort.

"Your name is, Serious?" Lily asked incredulously, raising a brow.

"No," he said carefully as his friends laughter increased, "its Sirius, Sirius Black." Lily thought for a moment about the difference and it dawned on her, looking straight at the boy she noticed he was grinning broadly making her smile too.

"Well, nice to meet you Sir-ius" she said sneering at the name and Sirius's amusement of her pronunciation.

"And the laughing idiot is James," he added, dramatically pointing to the boy who had stopped laughing and tried poising himself.

"James, James Potter," James said for himself, raising to full height as if regaining his dignity after giving Sirius a reproachful look and grinning broadly at Lily.

"Nice to meet you too, er- James" Lily said taking the boy's outstretched hand and feeling slightly faint.


	4. Dysfunctional Pair of Strangers

You Have Been Accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

(The Lillian Evans and Marauders Story)

_**Previously**_

_A magic wand… this was what Lily had been really looking forward to, wandering how she was to choose one if they gave her as much as a variety to choose from._

_Asking around where best to go for a wand they were told to go to a place called Ollivanders, ("Only place for wands, Ollivanders") a batty old lady had told them, pointing them in the right direction._

_Lily was, now, shuffling her owl's cage from side to side, it was becoming heavy but she wanted to carry it herself and that's how it all happened._

_Lily couldn't really see in front of her so she stopped for a little arm rest, as her parents, unnoticed by Lily, went ahead, but the problem was that she wasn't looking where she was going and-_

"_Too bad, mum already got me a broom-"_

"_Tell me about it!"_

"_You think she'll let me exchange?"_

"_Fat chance at that."_

(Sigh) "_You're right, but there's always a façade of an 'accidental' broken bro-"_

"_Umph!"_

"_Ouch!"_

"_Ouww…"_

"_Sorry, my fault, wasn't-" a young boy's voice began to apologize but stopped upon seeing the redhead lying underneath him, flaming hair fanning all around her prettily. He blushed, embarrassed, wandering how he had gotten into this peculiar predicament._

"_Wasn't looking, my fault- um… I- can't- breathe…" Lily started apologizing, eyes watering, at the same time, when she realized that a boy was actually on top of her and her cage wasn't in her hand, and strangely enough, her landing had been soft…._

"_Hmmhmmhhm," said an incoherent something or someone, as if trying to speak._

"_Uh… Oh! My fault- again…" said the boy further blushing with embarrassment as he stood and offered his hand to help the redhead before him up. "Up you go then!"_

"_Thank you," said Lily as she took the boy's outstretched helping hand in hers to pull herself up._

"_No problem," the boy assured her. "And how did you end up under there?" the boy asked his friend, amused, once more stretching out his hand, this time to a messy haired boy, who apparently had served as Lily's landing ground, soft at that, Lily blushed._

"_This is exactly what I was- Oh, is this your owl?- exactly what I was talking about! You seeeeee! I'm a magnet today!" exclaimed the second boy, amused as he interrupted himself and handed Lily her owl's cage. "First I go rocketing up your-"_

_She took it, slightly taken aback. _"_Thank you," Lily said in a small, shy, voice but she was ignored as the boys continued their all two-sided conversation. She wondered how they exactly kept track of what they were saying when most of it sounded incoherent to her ears…_

"_Yeah, now I can see what you meant… Victim number one, me!" the first boy admitted, frowning with amusement and apparent delight at being the first "victim" as he pointed with his thump at himself with a foolish crooked smile._

"_If anyone's the victim it would be me!" protested the other in indignation, though his voice held laughter._

"_Then that peaky Lupin folk- I liked him though- then that nervous wreck- what was his name again?" the boy continued as if there had been no interruption, counting off the 'victims' as they called them with his elegant fingers, "who cares- and now this young lady- which, incidentally, we don't know her name."_

_And with that, their attention was brought to Lily once again, who blushed meeting the first boys eyes. They were a grey, like she'd never seen before, stormy but kind and keen at the same time, with onyx hair falling elegantly onto his eyes._

"_Er- sorry about that, my fault," said the second boy who had a storm of raven black hair and spectacles, there was something about him that Lily couldn't place._

"_Don't try to steal all the glory, I too knocked her to the floor," protested the first as if that was something to brag about. "Anyways… Ignore the troll," he added addressing Lily with a jerky nod towards the second boy, Lily snickered._

"_Hey!" protested his friend?_

"_Sirius," said the first stretching out his hand in greeting, ignoring the other's protest, amusement visible in his eyes, and Lily frowned in puzzlement, head slightly tilted to one side._

"_Um…" Lily said taking his hand and bighting her bottom lip, "why are you serious? You… don't have to be all serious about this; it was an honest mistake…" said Lily, knowing that if she didn't it would eat at her, but her question was met by laughter from the other boy._

"_Jajajajajaja… oh, she is goo-oo-ood!" roared the boy as he dried tears of joy from his spectacled eyes._

"_Shut it pothead!" sneered the other, though he didn't seemed bothered, it seemed that he had expected this to happen._

"_Is that the best you've got? Pothead?" he countered. "I'll bet anything that a toad could come up with a better retort than that!" the boy said as he continued to laugh uncontrollably, as he added, "I think you're getting rusty mate!" Lily was utterly confused._

"_Because that's my name," he explained curtly to Lily as he slightly blushed under her questioning look, ignoring his laughing friend with as much dignity as he could muster and great effort._

"_Your name is, Serious?" Lily asked incredulously, raising a brow._

"_No," he said carefully as his friends laughter increased, "its Sirius, Sirius Black." Lily thought for a moment about the difference and it dawned on her, looking straight at the boy she noticed he was grinning broadly making her smile too._

"_Well, nice to meet you Sir-ius," she said sneering at the name and Sirius's amusement of her pronunciation._

"_And the laughing idiot is James," he added, dramatically pointing to the boy who had stopped laughing and tried poising himself._

"_James, James Potter," James said for himself, raising to full height as if regaining his dignity after giving Sirius a reproachful look and grinning broadly at Lily._

"_Nice to meet you too, er- James," Lily said taking the boy's outstretched hand and feeling slightly faint._

* * *

**Dysfunctional Pair of Strangers**

"Well, it's truly been a pleasure but I most be on my way," Lily added curtly.

"Well, I suppose if you must then… um…" said Sirius to Lily's retreating back. "Is it me or did we not catch her name?" Sirius stated watching Lily's retreating form.

"Hey, now that you mention it…" ventured James.

"That's a first, a girl pulled our leg!" roared Sirius in a fit of laughter.

"Hey, hold on!" James called after Lily as he ran to catch up with her, a hard task when you are out of breath from all the laughter; motioning for Sirius to follow.

"What?" Lily asked, defensively, as she turned to face the boys.

"You see- you failed- to… mention your name" stated Sirius between gasps, seeing as James was at a loss for words when he got there. _That _was strange, he thought.

"Er-" murmured Lily awkwardly, she did feel _slightly_ guilty for not telling the boys her name, but then again, she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. Besides, she was having fun teasing them, what with all the bumping into each other and the bruises that where sure to come.

"So, what's your name?" they both asked in perfect unison flashing equally foolish crooked grins.

"It seems like she doesn't want to tell us, Jamesie." Sirius amended.

"Don't call me that, Sir," reproved James critically.

"Troll..." coincided Sirius as Lily rolled her eyes… _there they go again!_

"Git," James wouldn't, couldn't back down.

"That you?" Sirius asked cordially.

"Can't you let yourself loose just once?" questioned James exasperated, (mockingly so of course).

"Never..." Sirius announced. Then, turning to Lily added, "So, what's your name?"

"Lillian Evans, but you can call me Lily," Lily stated sheepishly as she gave in with a sigh.

"Well, that wasn't so hard, now, was it?" one Sirius Black.

"The pleasure is all ours, Lily" grinned James, nudging Sirius on the ribs as he said it.

"What?" Sirius protested, and Lily laughed at their silliness, as James tried to look all too innocent, but to no avail.

"We made her laugh!" they cheered contentedly and triumphantly upon seeing and hearing her laugh, Lily blushed.

"Um... does your mum look an awful lot like you and extremely scary to the point of being terrifying when mad?" Sirius asked, suddenly fidgeting.

"Yes... Why?" Lily asked frowning with confusion and wondering how the boy could possibly know such thing.

"She's coming this way," James warned in a single breath as he pointed somewhere behind Lily, frantic anticipation dancing in his eyes. Lily wheeled around alarmed, readying for the torrent…

"At least she looks pretty when she's mad..." Sirius allowed, with a slight nod of the head, "unlike my mum."

"So true, Sirius, mate," James admitted, patting his friend in the back as if in consolation. Lily frowned curiously but didn't ask. She had more pressing matters at hand. Her angry mother, for instance, she bravely braced herself.

"Lillian Evans! Do you have any idea…" her mother roared as she trailed off, once started she seemed to never stop. "I was so worried," she gushed hugging Lily tightly to herself, "you really shouldn't do this to your mother, it puts me in quite a state."

"Sorry mum," Lily apologized demurely. They boys had been watching the whole transition with bemused expressions. Realizing that Lily wasn't in fact going to be badgered too badly by her mother. Upon seeing her eyes on them they gave her the thumps up, encouragingly she supposed.

"That's alright honey, just-" her mother began, interrupting her own monolog mid sentence. "And who may these two lovely boys be?" she asked, noticing James and Sirius, who suddenly straitened up, straightening their cloths and putting their hands formally behind their backs.

"James Potter, madam," announced James with a slight bow of his jet-black, messy head and stretching out his hand, my mother took it, looking slightly surprised and amused.

"And, Sirius Black," continued Sirius finalizing the introductions. And then, he too stretched out his own hand; my mother took his outstretched hand and shook it as well. "We just happened to _bumped _into Lily here and so we though it would only be polite if we where to just introduce ourselves to Lily here," Sirius explained airily, waving a hand nowhere in particular.

"Oh, my," breathed my mother, obviously pleased by his politeness, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you boys, I'm Amber Evans, Lily's mother."

"I'm sure they already guessed that mum," muttered her daughter.

"I don't suppose that you'll be entering Hogwarts with my Lily this year as well?" continued Mrs. Evans hopefully, ignoring her daughter's comment.

"Yes, actually-" the boys began. Lily was, once again, amazed by their impeccable synchronization and not for the first time that afternoon, wondered how they managed it with such ease.

"Amber, honey, did you find her?" asked a distressed Mr. Evans, upon spotting his beautiful wife in the crowd of coming and going witches and wizards.

"Yes, dear," Mrs. Evans called warmly to her husband. Her face glowed with love at the arrival of her husband; she had missed him during their short separation. "And this would be my husband, Mr. Evans," she added to the boys with an invitingly warm smile, they grinned back.

"What's this?" Mr. Evans asked placidly reaching his wife and daughter. Rightfully taking his place at his wife's side and putting an arm around her waist and mussing his daughter's hair.

"Oh, honey, look," Mrs. Evans conversed excitedly, her voice emanated pride, "our Lily's made some friends all ready. Two handsome boys, Sir- Sirius Black and James Potter," she looked to boys for confirmation and they nodded, "they will be attending Hogwarts as first years too!" She pointed at each of the boys in turn and beamed at her husband who beamed at Lily with as much obvious pride.

"Fancy that! A pleasure boys!" he announced holding out a hand and shaking theirs, commenting on their grips as he did so. "Do make sure to teach her the crooks and cronies until she gets a hand of things, won't you?"

"Daddy!" Lilly protested, blushing furiously. He ignored this laughing.

"Will do sir," the boys agreed in a serious business like tone, yet filled with promise.

"I shall be counting on you boys then."

"SIRIUS BLACK!" bellowed a murderous shrill, James and Sirius shivered as did Lily.

"I think I ought to disappear," Sirius muttered with a flinch as yet again the shrilling voice called out to him.

"SIRIUS BLACK! If you are not here by my side within the minute so help me Merlin I'll-"

"I hope that's the first thing they teach us in school, how to disappear," hissed Sirius under his breath, dodging sideways to get to the shrilling woman.

"I don't think you'll have to mate," James informed him confidentially, through the pity for his friend's soon to be doomed life. Sirius looked at him curiously but marched forth. Perhaps, thinking it safe to finish the horror, the sooner the better.

"You think we should follow him, mum," Lily worriedly asked, looking after Sirius' retrieving form with unease, "you know, moral support and all?" Lily wanted to return the favor after all.

"I'm here mum," Sirius said to the shrieking woman, to Lily and her parent's horror. James flinched and looked away dramatically as if he couldn't stand the sight of his friend being stared down at.

"What have you been doing all along?" his mom shrilled, glaring at him.

"I was with James," Sirius mumbled.

"This is no way for you to repay your poor mother!" she continued. "I'm the one that has to go through the trouble of looking for you when you pull one of your disappearing acts!" Mrs. Black made a quick snatching motion and latched on to one of her son's ears and pulled. Sirius' face twisted in pain. "_I _am your mum, wherever I go, _you _follow. Do I make myself clear?"

"I think that would be best," Mrs. Evan amended with saucer like eyes, horrified by the exchange. "I'm not like that am I?" she asked Lily in an undertone. Lily shook her head. Compared to _that _her mother was LOVABLE and not scary _at all _when angry.

"I really don't think you should-" James began to warn, seeing as my mother approached Mrs. Black, but the warning was too late.


	5. The Rescuing

You Have Been Accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

(The Lillian Evans and Marauders Story)

**The Rescuing**

_**Previously**_

"_SIRIUS BLACK!!" bellowed a murderous shrill, James and Sirius shivered as did Lily._

"_I think I ought to disappear" Sirius muttered with a flinch as yet again the shrilling voice called out to him._

"_SIRIUS BLACK!! I you are not her within the minute so help me Merlin I'll-" _

"_I hope that's the first thing they teach us in school, how to disappear," hissed Sirius dodging sideways to got to the shrilling woman._

"_I don't think you'll have to mate" James informed him confidentially, though the pity for his friend's soon to be doomed life. Sirius looked at him curiously but marched forth, perhaps, thinking it safe to finish the horror, the sooner the better. _

"_You think we should follow him, mum," Lily asked worriedly, "you know moral support and all?" Lily wanted to return the favor after all._

"_I'm here mum" Sirius said to the shrieking woman, to Lily and her parent's horror. James flinched and looked away dramatically as if he couldn't stand the sight of his friend being stared down at._

"_I think that would be best" Mrs. Evan amended with saucer like eyes. "I'm not like that I'm I?" she asked Lily in an undertone, Lily shook her head. Compared to that, her mother was LOVABLE and not scary at all when angry._

"_I don't think you should-" James began to warn, seeing as my mother approached Mrs. Black, but the warning was too late._

Sirius's head tentatively picked behind him to see if James, hopefully, had followed him so that at least he could share his self pity with one other. To his eminent horror he found not James, but Lily and her mother approaching the scene, with a dejected James trailing behind them. Surely he had warned them? By the apologetic look that James threw his way he understood that he had _tried_ but failed to warn them and now they were willingly going to deep themselves into a cauldron full of exploding potions. The thing was, that being a _Muggle born_ or a _Muggle_, even worse, at the moment wasn't the best idea. Not when it came to meeting a screaming Mrs. Black, not that it would have mattered if she _hadn't _been screaming, she would have made it very clear that she didn't approve of _Muddbloods. _

The situations was horrendous and try as he might, with as much subtlety as he could muster, all his efforts were going unnoticed by both Lily and her mother, or was it that they thought him silly and just wouldn't listen? Sirius hoped it wasn't the later but either way they were in deep- well, bloody hell, just let them find out on their own. The final decision had been made with much difficulty and so an exasperated sigh that Mrs. Black mistook as a form of disrespect brought her back to her surroundings and stopped her rambling- for a moment that is – now it continued lauder than before and more and more witches and wizards were stopping in their tracks to watch the one sided indignation and the embarrassed Sirius Black.

'_How more horrible of a woman can she be?'_ thought Lily as she watched the exchange and flinched as Mrs. Black got a clawed hold on one of Sirius's ears. To her horror and surprise there was another boy that could only be Sirius's brother, the resemblance was astonishing, trying with his small hands and tear stained face to stop their mother from badgering his brother any further. She couldn't help but think it cute, but then she noticed something peculiar- it was as if Sirius was ushering her and her mother away with his, almost, pleading gaze. She frowned, why would he do such a thing?

"Mrs. Black?" Interrupted Lily's mother tentatively while Sirius and James simultaneously smacked their hands against their forehead and Lily frowned at their behavior, even Sirius's brother had stopped his crying to look at us with disbelieve clearly written in his tear stained face. Yet another curious thing happen… everyone that had been watching seemed to have dispersed at the same moment that Mrs. Black turned her blazing gaze to look at my mother's warm face with disapproval. For a moment Lily thought that her mother too would be scolded.

"What is it to you?" barked Mrs. Black, not a hint of friendliness masked her aggravated tone. She sounded as if she had been told not to do something that she really wanted to do, she looked like she was about to pout, just like a little kid would when his sweets are taken away. Clearly Mrs. Evans was taken aback by the venom in Mrs. Blacks tone and glaring black eyes but she did not back down.

"I only wanted to thank your son for his guidance," Mrs. Evans informed Mrs. Black coolly, Lily shivered at the vehemence in her mother's tone, she wasn't used to hearing her mother speak with so much venom before.

"Did you now?" Mrs. Black said in her screeching voice, looking suspiciously and with obvious disapproval at Lily's mother.

"Yes, he was very helpful and helped my Lily-"

"Then you're a fool, just like him, following around a lost chap when you yourselves are lost?! That is preposterous!" screeched Mrs. Black in her, as of yet, most terrifying shriek, sending the few people around her into a profuse round of flinching. At that moment, however, Lily couldn't help but marvel at the sight of her mother, all doubts gone; she _was _her mother's daughter after all. Mrs. Evans had turned a dangerous shade of red and was looking murderous; Lily had definitely acquired her mother's temperament to the dot in every sense of the word, at the moment Lily couldn't feel prouder.

"Now, wait just a moment, how dare you talk to my wife like that?" came Mr. Evans outraged voice that shook with barely uncontrolled anger.

"Honey, I think I can handle this," hissed Mrs. Evans to her husband, looking reproachful, but Mr. Evans simply shook his head and stared at Mrs. Black, expecting an answer.

"I will not stand for it, Amber, not when someone treats _my wife_ like this," Mr. Evans informed her, not taking his eyes off of Mrs. Black who, at the moment, looked flabbergasted. Mrs. Evans blushed at her husband's blunt words and looked away from him, embarrassed but pleased.

"You are _**muddbloods**_, aren't you?" she hissed, wrinkling her nose, rather than answering and Lily felt her stomach do a sickening flip and then drop as Mrs. Black threw disgusted daggers at them with her eyes, as she involuntarily took a step back and covered her nose with a clawed hand, as if she couldn't stand the thought of being so close to them or their smell for that matter. She appeared to think of them as something foul and disgusting. This did not escape Mrs. Evans, despite the fact that she had been addressed by a word that she hadn't quite understood and wasn't familiar with, still, she had enough sense to know that it was a form of insult. Lily remembered with a pang hearing something about the meaning of _that_ awful word and stared back at Mrs. Black with a look that could kill.

"Now, I don't think there's any need for insults _mother_," Sirius spat, speaking up; Lily was surprised at this, but grateful that he was standing up for her, as apparently did Sirius himself who momentarily looked horror stroked, but quickly recovered with a swell smile, clearly proud.

"Who do you think you are, talking to your _mother_ like that?" Mrs. Black questioned severely.

"Hardly a mother and she _has_ to say that…" Sirius hissed in an undertone, hands clenched into fists.

"What was that?" the witch of a mother demanded.

"I'm her friend," Sirius stated, louder so that his mother could hear, voice ringing with sincerity.

"You are no son of mine…" muttered Mrs. Black looking at her son with disgust. "No son of mine associates with _**muddbloods**_," she spat, literarily, at her son, but Sirius didn't seem discouraged.

"Finally, some good news!" Sirius grinned making, the nearly forgotten, James roar with laugher as he mouthed the words '_good one_' to his dear friend Lily had to smirk at that, it was brilliant, stealing a look at her parents she noticed that they too had a smirk curling their lips "I always thought I was adopted," he added, seeing his mother's confused, if that's what you could call her scowl, expression. Now she looked like she would actually commit the murder she had been planning to set out for… it was, frightening and nothing short from it.

"SIRIUS BLACK, HOW DARE YOU HUMILIATE ME?!" roared Mrs. Black, where did this woman get the strength to screech like that, Lily couldn't help but wander. Sirius seemed to not care anymore about what _might_ happen to him, he simply shrugged in response while his mother's nose flared threateningly; he was truly nonchalant about it, Lily was impressed.

"You do it to me all the time," Sirius sighed and walked to stand next to me and James stood by his left, his gaze daring Mrs. Black to try and do something to Sirius as did Lily's and to Lily's surprise so did her parents. "Now you get a taste of your own medicine, _mother._"

"You… ungrateful… GET OVER HERE NOW!" Mrs. Black's voice shook with fury but Sirius didn't seem faced and just shook his head in response.

"I said-"

"No," my mother said simply, to everyone's surprise, "I think your son should stay with us, until you calm down, Mrs. Black. You see, I would hate to see anything happen to my daughter's friend when I clearly could have done something about it, so there you have it." My mother placed a protective hand over Sirius's shoulder and leaned him against her, Sirius visibly relaxed and a wave of warm calm seemed to engulf him, though he had momentarily looked confused and uncertain due to the warm and motherly touch. Lily grinned at him encouragingly and mouthed the words '_thank you for before_' silently, Sirius's look stated that he didn't mind and that, if he had to, he would do it again.

At that moment Mrs. Black had an internal war going on, Lily could tell, she looked like she really wanted to slap or curse Mrs. Evans and so her eyes danced between her son, who could care less and was trapped in a warm embrace, and Mrs. Evans who was defiantly glaring at her, clearly not scared. Mrs. Evans knew that if she had to _actually _fight to protect the child in her arms she would.

"Fine," she retorted and walked away, dragging Sirius's younger brother along with her.

"Will your brother be alright?" Lily asked Sirius worriedly, he snorted.

"Yeah, he'll be alright, mother _dearest_ adores him. He never does anything wrong," Lily nodded, but couldn't help but flinch at the resentment that coated his every word. "Thank you for the save, Mrs. Evans," he added, looking up at Lily's mother and grinning ingratitude.

"Yes, thank you for rescuing my best mate, Mrs. Evans," James interjected sheepishly.

"Anytime, but we also should be saying thanks," assured them Mrs. Evans with a warm motherly smile, that Sirius was clearly not accustomed to for he looked down looking sheepish, blushing and with a happy, yet, silly grin.

"Now, shall we go for Ice cream?" announced Mr. Evans, now that was something everyone could agree to with pleasured screaming and chanting, I may add.

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_**A/N: **__I know it's short but there you have it, next chapter is going to be You've got Owl… so look forward to it and R&R else I'll stop updating and check out my other stories! I have one for Twilight for those of you who love and adore the series. Bella/Jasper Romance/Drama._


	6. You’ve Got Owl

**A/N; **Don't hate me… this is only a teaser chapter before I post the real one… but I am rewriting the first few chapters… you can read as to why on the first chapter's Author's Notes, if you decide to go back… I've only begun to rewrite one and two so far.

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You Have Been Accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

(The Lillian Evans and Marauders Story)

**You've Got Owl**

_**Previously on The Lillian Evans and Marauders Story;**_

"_No," my mother said simply, to everyone's surprise, "I think your son should stay with us, until you calm down, Mrs. Black. You see, I would hate to see anything happen to my daughter's friend when I clearly could have done something about it, so there you have it." My mother placed a protective hand over Sirius's shoulder and leaned him against her. _

_Sirius visibly relaxed and a wave of warm calm seemed to engulf him, though he had momentarily looked confused and uncertain, due to the warm and motherly touch that he was not accustomed to experiencing. Lily grinned at him encouragingly and mouthed the words '__thank you for before__' silently. Sirius's look stated that he didn't mind and that, if he had to, he would do it again._

_At that moment Mrs. Black had an internal war going on, Lily could tell. She looked like she really wanted to slap or curse Mrs. Evans and so her eyes danced between her son, who could care less and was trapped in a warm embrace, and Mrs. Evans who was defiantly glaring at her, clearly not scared. On the other hand, Mrs. Evans knew that if she had to __actually __fight to protect the child in her arms, she would._

"_Fine," she retorted and walked away, dragging Sirius's younger brother along with her. The later, looking back at his older brother with a watery look, something like sadness flashing behind his black eyes._

"_Will your brother be alright?" Lily asked Sirius worriedly. He snorted._

"_Yeah, he'll be alright, mother __dearest__ adores him. He never does anything wrong," Lily nodded, but couldn't help but flinch at the resentment that coated his every word. "Thank you for the save, Mrs. Evans," he added, looking up at Lily's mother and grinning in gratitude._

"_Yes, thank you for rescuing my best mate, Mrs. Evans," James interjected sheepishly._

"_Anytime, but we also should be saying thanks as well," Mrs. Evans assured them with a warm, motherly smile. That Sirius was, clearly, not accustomed to. He looked down sheepishly, blushing, and with a happy, yet, silly grin he looked around at Lily and smiled at her too, his eyes gleaming. _

"_Now, we all go for some Ice cream," announced Mr. Evans. Now, _that_ was something everyone could agree to, with pleasured screaming and chanting, I may add._

_

* * *

_

"'Ergo, Ladies," Mr. Evans began, glancing at his flushed redheaded daughter and wife, "Gentlemen," he continued, glancing at the boys who gleamed enthusiastically at him. He chortled lightly; it felt as if he had suddenly gained two sons in one day! Mr. Evans was a simple man, a family man, who loved his wife and two daughters, but being the only man in a home filled with women, he often found himself thinking what it might be like to have a son or two. He now thought, that this might be it. "What shall we be having today?"

Every eye turned to the man behind the glass counter, scooping up colorful balls of what _should _be Ice cream –according to the sign– and up to the blackboard just behind him, the menu. As they read the menu diligently Mr. Evans and Mrs. Evans exchanged a meaningful gaze filled with love and some… _doubt_ as to what sort of surprise they might be in for by choosing any of the, um, _curious_ flavors offered.

"I… I want a scoop of Troll Earwax and another of Dragon Dung!" Sirius informed Mr. Evans who eyed him dubiously but did not say anything, while James, on the other hand, gasped. He was impressed.

"Tro- Troll Earwax and Dra- Dragon _Dung_?" Mr. Evans confirmed, faltering, hoping the boy might change his mind. Sirius nodded his affirmative and James nodded in awed approval.

Sirius shrugged sheepishly, "Since it's two scoops, I thought I might as well get two different ones."

"Very well…" Mr. Evans agreed, a little disgruntled. "James?"

"I'll have Dragon's Breathe, Mr. Evans," James said confidently.

"Good one Jamesie!" Sirius gleamed, equally impressed by his mate's choice. Mr. Evans was not convinced but did not say anything; they were not really his kids after all. "That's just as daring as what I'm having!"

"I thought I asked for you not to call me that, _Sir_," James stated formally, smiling with gleam and mischief. Something was coming, Lily and Sirius knew."…But then, I guess that's your way of compensating for having a white dwarf for a companion… really, with such dim company, I would have snuffed it myself." James added airily, something that neither Lily nor her parents seemed to understand but seemed to make sense to Sirius, somehow.

"You…" Apparently Sirius could not top the recent insult thrown his way. Sirius glared at James, James smiled back, the epitome of innocence and then… Sirius lost it and started laughing, as if unable to control himself. James looked smug, his lip twitching as he tried hard not to laugh. The Evans were momentarily entertained by the outrageous display of kinship, that was certain and they joined in the laughter, it was something contagious, they could not have helped it.

"And you my dear?" Mr. Evans asked Lily as the laughter died down and the children could breathe.

"Hmm…" Lily hummed thoughtfully, switching her attention to the list of Ice creams once more before breaching her decision.

"Whenever you are ready," the boys mumbled, snickering. Lily glared at them, satisfactorily hushing them up. Mr. and Mrs. Evans chuckled, shaking their heads as they watch with some amusement the exchange. Lily smirked. Sirius and James exchanged conspiratorial gazes and seeming to reach a silent agreement they simultaneously shrugged, nodding. Lily did not miss the exchange and certainly did not like the looks of it, and decided to be on guard, just in case. She knew that those two were full of surprises; it would not hurt to be overly prepared around them.

"I want the Bat Boogie Ice cream!" Lilly gushed, finally.

"Lillian Evans!" Her mother, Mrs. Evans, chastised exasperated.

"But mum," Lillian argued, "aren't you _always _telling me to try new things?"

"Lillian," her mother warned, the girl pouted.

"Now, now girls…" Mr. Evans interjected with a chuckle as the boys, James Potter and Sirius Black, stared back and forth between child and mother. Watching the exchange as if it were a Quidditch match, an intriguing one at that. One they had never seen the likes of. These were _girls _after all, the species they had yet to understand.

"Dad! Elliott!" the daughter and mother shouted simultaneously. Mr. Evans flinched along with the boys as they distanced themselves, watching from a safe distance.

"Amber, honey," Mr. Evans began, approaching his wife cautiously, like one would a dangerous wild cat. "This is all a new experience for Lily, I really think it would be best for her to try everything she feels she can handle." Mrs. Evans glared at her husband and looked indignantly away from him with a little huff. Sirius and James were impressed, they caught Mr. Evans attention and they each gave him the thumbs up, Lily noticed and rolled her eyes. "I'm going to be in so much trouble when I get home," Mr. Evans mumbled inaudible, looking sideways at his wife.

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**_A/N: Review!!! That might make me update faster [smirk]..._**


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